AMMAN – Under the patronage of HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN), the EUMEDCONNECT3 and AfricaCONNECT2 (AC2) project meetings were held with the attendance of representatives of the national research and education networks in the Arab region as well as the European GÉANT network as the projects coordinator.
The objective of the meetings was to review progress and support the development of the pan-Arab research and education networks via the European Commission co-funding program.
The framework for the cooperative work between ASREN and GÉANT includes e-Infrastructure development, operating regional PoPs, and peering of research and education traffic as well as providing seamless access to resources and repositories available at worldwide research and education networks.
Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh indicated, “ASREN is committed to supporting and enhancing Research and Education e-infrastructures in the Arab region. It has setup a high-speed linkage and provided services for the research communities building on its partnerships and EU funded projects”.
He added, “I would like to develop an action plan to increase dedicated connectivity, enhance competitiveness in access, and develop interoperability platforms with our peers in Europe, the US, and elsewhere.”
Mr. David West, the project manager of EUMEDCONNECT3 and AC2 projects indicated, “Over the past years, ASREN has inspired several cooperation projects in connectivity, services, and access. It has demonstrated great capabilities in developing the pan-Arab e-Infrastructures and establishing its first aggregation PoP in London for peering traffic for research and education with its counterparts at the regional level. We are proud of this cooperation and ASREN has demonstrated a great commitment for the establishment of the international links with Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Egypt, Tunis, Morocco, and Palestine”.
ASREN has organized a specialized four-day workshop on Border Gateway Protocol of Networks and Management in cooperation with the US Network Startup Resource Center. Participants from nine countries worldwide attended this prestigious workshop.
ASREN is a partner in the EU-funded EUMEDCONNECT3 project, which supports high-speed connectivity to link with Europe the eastern Mediterranean countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. It is also a partner in the EU-funded AC2 project, which supports high-speed connectivity to link with Europe the southern Mediterranean countries: Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.
